Code BA24020201: Rare See-Through BILAND Swiss Compass, c. 1915
| This is a rare compass made by Otto Biland in Switzerland around 1915. "Otto BILAND was a Swiss manufacturer located in Saint-Imier (Sankt Immer in German). He founded his company in 1906. He received a Gold Medal at the Swiss National Exhibition in Berne in 1914. The company was listed in 1920, plus an ad for precision instruments, tachometers, timers, speedometers, watchmen's watches and counters for cars and aeroplanes" (source compassmuseum.com). The magnetic needle has two points on its vertical axis and rotates between two jewelled bearings in the screws in the centre of the S-shaped transverse bars on each side (see patent here: 71460). This mechanism is unique and the same is used for the balance wheel in mechanical watches. The needle has a N shape at North and S at South. It has also a second arrow that can be rotated by turning the crown under the bow for calculating marching angles. The compass has a thick glass crystal on each side for map reading. On the back, it is marked with the BILAND LOGO and Swiss Patent 83025 and French Patent 76117. It is in excellent working order and finds North without any problem. It measure around 47mm in diameter. |
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